Coastal Landscapes Flashcards
What is the littoral zone?
The boundary between land and sea.
It extends from the highest sea level line, linked to high tides and storm waves, to shallow offshore water, where the base of a wave first encounters friction with the sea bed.
How can coasts be classified?
- geology
- energy
- balance
- sea level
What does the littoral zone consist of?
•backshore •foreshore •nearshore •off shore Zones
What’s the backshore zone?
Usually above the influence of waves.
What’s the foreshore zone?
Inter-tidal or surf zone.
What’s the nearshore?
Breaker zone
What’s the offshore zone?
Beyond the influence of waves.
Why can It be difficult to classify coasts?
- Energy can change throughout (seasonal)-> low energy environments can become high energy environments when storms arrive.
- local geology can produce rocky areas within coastal plain landscapes
- Sheltered bays can encourage deposition in areas with long fetches and destructive waves.
What is geological structure?
The arrangement of rocks in layers or folds and and the joints and bedding planes within them.
What is lithology?
The rock types and their general characteristics.
What is morphology?
The shape of the coast. It is largely determined by geological structure.
What are bedding planes?
Horizontal breaks in the strata, caused by gaps in time during periods of rock formation
What are dips?
The angle at which the rock strata lie. Can be horizontal, vertical, towards the sea or inland.
What are faults?
Formed when the stress or pressure to which a rock is subjected exceeds its internal strength causing it to fracture.
What are folds?
Formed by pressure during tectonic activity, which makes rock buckle and crumple.
